Saturday, November 03, 2012

With a beautiful, colorful, abstract cover painting by Douglas Leichter, Paul Pines’ DIVINE Madness deals with a lot of things: religion, mythological figures, death, life, communication and of course mental illness, etc. His book is divided into three sections: Book 1: The Serpent In the Bird, Book 2: The Absent One, and Book 3: Who Knows The Knower.

In Book One:The Serpent In the Bird, Pines reveals his intentions for the 64 page trilogy in his first poem, “1 ● It’s not about us”.He suggests what we as readers should expect to discover throughout in DIVINE Madness:

It’s not about us

but what

connects us

a world

forged of links

the parrot’s beak

in the lion’s jaw

divine madness

encrypting our sleep

like Puritans sniffing out

God’s fingerprints

messages born again

and again from the rubble

of our assumptions

what we listen for

as if decoding

the depth

of diamond

or entering a winter landscape

suddenly don’t know

what we thought

until a child

who

for a moment lost

reappears full grown

to tell us

we need not

fear death

if touched by

the consciousness

of the gods

in men

Pines has introduced gently introduced us to DIVINE Madness. He begins with “It’s not about us/but what/connects us” and ends his poem “1 ● It’s not about us”with his advice that “we need not/fear death//if touched by/the conscious/of the gods/in men”.

Pines suggests that like the mythological serpent who lives inside of the bird (as the first section’s title reads), there are “gods [whose ‘consciousness’ lives] in men”.Some psychiatrists would call this mental illness. And since this book is titled DIVINE Madness, the readers may think so also.

As George Economou blurbs on Pines’ book’s back cover, “With extraordinary daring and inspiration, Paul Pines has dedicated the art he has exquisitely crafted for a lifetime to the service of the divine madness that has always distinguished poetry from mere writing.” He also comments on how Pines “captures the universal analogy anew by ‘connecting us to the consciousness of the gods in men’ …. ”

The way Pines writes about this ‘divine madness” is intriguing,after all perhaps this contact with “the gods” is a gift, or - better yet - maybe it’s mental telepathy. Whichever Pines is implying, the analogies/metaphors are there.

Throughout civilization, there have been myths and legends about serpents being powerful, evil, and frightening to humans. Now, in 2012, Pines suggests that, like The Serpent in the Bird, there are “gods” inside the minds of men. How creativeand brilliant, yet how disconcerting at the same time.

DIVINE Madness is filled with metaphors, vivid imagery, and has a pretty consistent experimental structure. While an abstract poet, he uses similar themes with different twists throughout his book. One topic often written about is birds, especially in Book Two: THE ABSENT ONE. His love for these feathered friends can be seen in “20 ● Did Audubon”:

Did Audubon

In the woods around Natchez

think of birds

as aspects of

his inner landscape

a mockingbird

in the marsh

the secretive

part of himself

the pileated woodpecker

his relentlessness

and what of

the thrush

whose song

bends the spectrum

filling the pine grove

of his heart?

Did December’s long beams

touch something

that moved in him

unseen

which he could neither identify

nor tame

but knew

only as a shadow

at day’s end when brandy

staves off dampness

that accompanies

the dark

a shadow

that moves still in his drawings

of flightless wings

stiff legs and talons

in stuffed owls looking down

from mantels

decoys on shelves

or paneled walls

did he imagine these too

had their place

fragments of unrealized

desire

known to him only

as shadows at day’s end?

While this poem is about mental illness or how “December’s long beams/touch something/that moved in him/unseen/which he could neither identify/nor tame/but knew/only as a shadow/at day’s end when brandy/staves off dampness”, Pines describes various birds so beautifully that we can almost visualize them: “a mockingbird/in the marsh”; “the pileated woodpecker/his relentlessness”; “the thrush/whose song/bends the spectrum”. Even “the stuffed owls looking down/from mantels/decoys on shelves/or paneled walls” have a place in his world where everything is “touched by the consciousness of the gods

in men”.

DIVINE Madness’s back cover has a blurb by Robert Kelly that reads, “[Pines] is the quiet sage who makes everything in his room a tender plaything.” He refers to Pines’ poem “20 ● Did Audubon”.

Pines appreciates birds, living or deceased. He even writes about “birds in an ice storm/as if nothing were/more important than/the direction of our intention” in Book Two: The Absent One’s poem “28: Grief strips us bare”and about “… reef birds/feeding on life beneath/the surface” in poem “35: Starting out from a Spain” found in Book Three: Who Knows The Knower. Pines’ birds seem to have a purpose, or a direction, and have a functional existence.

Pines writes how it’s important to know one’s role in life, and to accept it, as seen in Book Three: Who Knows The Knower’s poem “33: The sea beyond bare trees”:

The sea beyond bare trees

under a winter sky

extends to the horizon

highlighting branches

mossed by wind

skinned by salt air

golden finches at the feeder

blue and white nut-hatches

pecking at rind

He understands the role of salt

the geometry of shells

the bios of ocean

how marine life

melts into stone shelves

hollows out

submerged cathedrals

for worship crabs

where the eel of solitude

electrifies its prey

as armies clash wave

upon wave

in the agitation of forces

seen and unseen

he can watch

the gods make love

in the privacy of

his heart

and continue to chop the carrots

dice the garlic.

In this poem, Pines hasthese non-living or living things do their normal routines. The poem’s voice “understands the role of salt/the geometry of shells/the bios of ocean”. Why “he can [even] watch/the gods make love/in the privacy of/his heart” and remain so detached that he can “continue to chop the carrots/dice the garlic”.

As he writes in the final poem “46: but shall we leave it here” in Book Three: Who Know The Knower, “but shall we leave it here/with a drop of dew/on a leaf//stars snaking through/the heaven//the underworld/in the Milky Way//to navigate/the world as it forms around us/the universe”.

Here questions are raised that are probably thousands of years old like: Is a god, or are there gods? How did the world begin?Is there a heaven and hell? And will we ever find the answers to such inquiries?

In “46: but shall we leave it here”, the poet also asks:

the voice

that asks us

is it hard

to look upon the fear

in your father’s face?

who calls the ancient one

HaShem?

Paul Pines presents and deals with difficult topics throughout this read. And if asreaders we keep an open mind, we can appreciate and understand Paul Pines’DIVINE Madness.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Come see these great poets. Afaa Michael Weaver is a featured poet in the new issue of Ibbetson Street due out this month. Sam Cornish is the Boston Poet Laureate and author of Dead Beats ( Ibbetson Street Press), and I was proud to have poet Martha Collins as a featured reader at The Somerville News Writers Festival. This is a great new center in Gloucester, so all should come out and support it. And thanks to Endicott College Creative Writing Student Maxwell Snelling (An intern at the Center) for informing me about this!--Doug Holder/Endicott College/Office of Ibbetson Street Press

And then there
are some tantalizing opening lines such as Hot
by Craig Arnold:

I’m cooking
Thai—you bring the beer./The same order, although it’s been a year/

--friendships
based on food are rarely stable./We should have left ours at the table

There is Jimmy
Santiago Baca’s Green Chile:

I prefer red
chile over my eggs

and potatoes for
breakfast.

Adrienne Rich
begins Peeling Onions thus:

Only to have a grief

equal to all
these tears!

There’s not a sob
in my chest.

And finally there
is Howard Nemerov’s two-line tribute to Bacon
& Eggs:

The chicken
contributes,

But the pig gives
his all.

These are just a
few of the selections in this volume worth devouring. In often intriguing or
delightful verse there is discourse on melons, berries, meat, vegetables,
fruits – enough to fill a supermarket or your refrigerator and pantry.It covers appetizers, main courses, desserts,
celebrations, holidays and the seasons. The views of food and their
relationship to us are there for our discovery.

If you are a fan
of food – and who is not, even if dieting – then this book will whet your
appetite and crave a snack.

______________________________________

Zvi A. Sesling is
author of King of the Jungle
(Ibbetson Street, 2010), Across Stones of
Bad Dreams (Cervena Barva, 2011) and the soon to be published Fire Tongue (Cervena Barva). He is
Editor of Muddy River Poetry Review
and Bagel Bards Anthology #7.

Poet Manson Solomon: A well traveled poet with the wisdom of 'Solomon'

By Doug Holder

Early on Manson Solomon had a bad case of wanderlust--that brought him to many countries, advanced degrees, and a successful business. He is the rare bird that combines business acumen with artistic talent. Solomon wrote the News:

“I emerged from the womb with a mission to be a writer with a large trust fund. Said trust fund being inexplicably absent, I took the road more traveled, {acquiring graduate degrees in Economics, Psychology and Philosophy from the London School of Economics, Columbia and Harvard,] engaging in various academic, artistic and entrepreneurial pursuits — in New York, London, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Nova Scotia, Wellesley, Cambridge – I am currently a member of the Bagel Bards of Somerville, Mass.”

Doug Holder: What was it like for a Jew in South Africa in the 1950's?

Manson Solomon: It was like living in Newton or Brookline. It was like a ghetto. People were from immigrant backgrounds who would cluster in the suburbs. As far as the literary scene here is a clue. When I left and had my farewell party--I read from Emerson and Thoreau. There was no one local worth reading. Now you have a couple of people like Nadine Gordimer, Fugard, etc... that I read.

DH: Why did you leave South Africa?

MS: I left when I was 20 or 21. All my interests, all my soul, simply were with Western culture...particularly American literature and music. I loved Gershwin and Berlin--all that spoke to me. Again I asked:" Why am I here?" I didn't know. South Africa was too provincial and confining for me.

DH: You had a sever case of the wanderlust. You traversed Europe--picking up degrees--probably picking up fodder for your poetry--did you have any mentors at the time?

MS: I don't think I had any mentors. I learned from people who might have listened to me, people whose work I read, but I can't point to a teacher and say this person inspired me to do one or the other thing.

DH: For a while you had a life in the academy.

MS: I did. I majored in economics and business because I figured I had to make a living and I thought how could I make a living from studying the literature and humanities?

DH: You left the academy, and poetry, when you started a family. Did the family life prevent you from having a creative one?

MS: For me there was no time to do anything creative. I had to pay the tuition bills. If I didn't have a family I probably would have explores a more creative life in writing and poetry.

DH: Do you think poets and writers are in need of more business acumen?

MS: Generally. I really didn't like business and economics but I came to learn it wasn't a bad thing. I can make money much faster for projects than say an artist or academic who is going for a grant.

DH: You got your PhD in Philosophy from Columbia University. What did your dissertation concern?

MS: It was a study of what goes into making a judgment of something. If you are saying something is good are you describing it? Or are you approving it; urging someone to like i?. I tried to tease out the different parts of making a judgment. My great contribution to philosophy. (Laugh)

DH: Why did you leave Columbia?

MS: Well it was during the tumult of the 60s. I finished my course work, and then I secured a fellowship to Hebrew University in Israel to teach. Then I took off with friends to live off the land in Nova Scotia. When I finished my dissertation at Columbia, I came to Harvard as a visiting fellow in philosophy. I spent eight years at Harvard.

DH: You started a successful real estate business. Why did you switch paths in life?

MS: It was an accident. I wanted to get out of Cambridge for the country. I bought up distressed real estate, rehabbed it, and sold it for a profit.

DH: A lot of your poetry is infused with nature imagery. Who or what influences you?

MS: That's true. What influences me most is going to my house in Nova Scotia every summer. It overlooks the ocean. I have been doing that for 40 years.

DH: You have had a number of poetry publication credits since you retired 5 years ago.

MS: Yes. I have been in the Muddy River Review, Bagel Bards Anthology, Ibbetson Street, Lyrical Somerville, and others.

DH: How do you write a poem?

MS: I'm walking a long . I see something--something happens--I jot down ideas--go away--come back--after awhile I flesh it out.

Today’s
society undervalues serenity and that is too bad. In other eras serenity has
flourished as a positive concept promoting sometimes poetry and sometimes
prayer and sometimes merging the two. Francis of Assisi, for example, could not
have written his revolutionary Canticle of the Sun, combining both pagan
pantheism and Christian monotheism, unless his soul centered on sereneness and
a profound sereneness at that.

Dorothy
E. Morris in her book of poems, God Lights His Candles, draws from an obvious
reservoir of spiritual serenity to compose her quicksilver images of natural
and ritual happiness. Her poem Images is a good starting point. Like all good
imagistic poetry her three subjects interest us with texture and emotion. Here’s
the first image,

On
a looping wire

Myriad
starlings squat

Like
black Majorca pearls.

The
second image turns ducks into a line of obedient monks. Did I mention that
serenity can, but need not, be eremitic? The poet puts a little twist in the
third image,

It’s
been three years,

I
saw a crimson cardinal.

Was
it you?

The
sadness at a glimpse of that flamboyant bird offered here has no sharp edges.
Serenity persists.

In
Spring: Beach Walk the poet turns the sun into a toddler playing hide and seek,
then, as he carries the burden of original sin, sends him on his way seeking redemption.
The poem ends with these lines,

Out
of darkness

Night
to light

Traversing
the way

In
search of

Eternal
grace.

In
our modern world bringing up grace as a poetic motif doesn’t happen. Brave
woman!

I
don’t believe the poem July Benediction works well independently. However it
does further the context and sets up what comes after. By the way, the first
four lines of this poem do create a wonderful stand-alone image. Here they are,

Twilight,

The
sails are coming down.

Sun
is waning.

Serenity.

Morris’
version of serenity again does not exclude melancholy. But it is a considered
thoughtful melancholy. In Elegy the poet says,

A
chill.

Was
it only the fear of ice

Or
the cold to come

That
brought sudden despair?

Or
something deeper,

A
long-ago September

When
summer ended,

Bringing
regret, guilt or grief.

The
poem entitled Advent 2007 takes place within the confines of the poet’s car.
While listening to the Magnificat sung by the Mormon Temple Choir, she
meditates on the sun’s reflection on the bay’s surface in front of her. Images
of her childhood are recalled and the lost cleanliness that the water of
baptism offered, and that strange word “grace” shows up again. Morris explains,

In
my car mirror I watch the sun

Reflecting
on the water of the bay

I
think: grace

How
one might dip one’s fingers

In
the water

Or
naked, immerse oneself

In
the icy pool

To
be clean.

Another
poem which speaks of rebirth is After The Storm: Winter 2007-2008. It begins
with childhood observations touched with pagan magic and then proceeds to adult
images gleaned after a Nor’easter had struck. Once again a hint of sadness: the
poet likens the iced up trees to a heart’s brittleness. On the other hand even
the “the dead of winter” becomes a hopeful time of promise in this poet’s eyes.
Morris says,

Why
do they call it

The
Dead of Winter?

When
the tiniest blade

Brings
promise,

And
one can and must hope.

In
Changeling the poet gives us a compelling image of the ocean personified.
Morris speaks from memory of the sea’s many moods: the rage, the tempest, and
the thunderous roar. The scene then changes to the present. The poet concludes,

But
today

With
the sun shining on you,

You
seem almost serene,

Tranquil,
gentle

As
with a sigh

You
glide gracefully to shore

Notice
the use of the word “gracefully.” These
pieces are most assuredly imagist poems with a spiritual bent.

All
religions use symbols in their rituals. Sometimes these symbols become so
powerful they merge into the reality that they represent. Transubstantiation is
one of them. Morris borrows this symbol from Catholicism in her poem Eucharist.
Then she does something different. She describes the ordinary transference of
the host from priest to communicant in a way that transforms her into a mother
of divinity, a Madonna. Morris accomplishes this with these simple lines,

I
hold the Host

Making
a cup.

Like
Mother Mary

I
lift him up.

Another
poem set in church is Holy Thursday. The poet begins in a tangle of trees, a
pagan setting and ends at evening Mass where she observes the regeneration of
human- kind. The poet marvels,

In
the pew before us

A
small blonde woman in a loose blouse

Prays.

Her
husband turns to look at her

Then
gently, reverently pats her belly.

In
the poem All Hallows Eve the poet espies one more mother and child moment. A
three year old child hops off his bicycle and offers his nearby mother two
dandelions. The poet continues,

“For
you, Mom,” he said proudly.

She
laughed, “Two weeds.”

“Lucky
you,” I called to her.

Sometimes
I wonder if God is three years old.

Neat
finish. Nice sentiment.

Now
find that quiet spot within your selves and give Morris’ book a try.

Catching Up With Doug Holder/Mass Poetry Website

Newton Writing and Publishing Center

(Click on pic to go to site) The Newton Writing and Publishing Center provides guidance, inspiration, encouragement, and all the tools you need to revise your work to perfection, whether it’s a novel, a poem, a short story, your memoirs, or a non-fiction project. But we are not just a place to work; we have fun here, too, with lively open mic events, catered author appearances, and book launching parties

Small Press and Poetry Collection at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass.

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Poseur : 1974 to 1983 by Doug Holder

(To order click on picture) “Doug Holder is a poet of the old city, the city of our fathers, of the 1950s and later. Mr. Holder writes poems like notes in a diary. I found myself struck by their economy, wit, and urban melancholy... He has a voice unlike that of any of his contemporaries. Holder is a poet of the street and coffeehouses, an observer of the everyday. He writes of old Marxists, security guards and his relationship to his deceased father—themes of the common life. I am drawn to these poems as I am to the poetry of Philip Levine and the prose of James T. Farrell. But Holder’s poetry is deeper than that. He sees the world not for what it is, but on his own terms. He is living in the poem rather than in poetry.” ~ Sam Cornish, First Boston Poet Laureate

Portrait of An Artist as a Young Poseur by Doug Holder (Order on paypal.com)

OH Don't ,She Said..a poem/song project

( Preview and Purchase--click on pic) Oh Don’t, She Said ~ by Jennifer Matthews. Jennifer wrote this song after her friend and notable poet, Doug Holder, showed her his poem: “Oh don’t, she said, it’s cold.” After reading it, Jennifer felt inspired and heard a song in it. She had to change some of the words to make it work lyrically with the music, but she made sure to stay close to the original poem as much as possible. Jennifer played all the instruments on it and engineered it. It was mixed by Phil Greene at Normandy Sound, who worked with the likes of Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and many, many other noted artists. Doug wrote it after a conversation he had with his mother while riding on a train to New York City. It is dedicated to her, Rita Holder. Genre: Rock: Acoustic Release Date: 2014

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So Spoke Penelope by Tino Villanueva

(Click on picture to order now!) "An intense poetic hovering over a situation of prolonged expectation....The poems in SO SPOKE PENELOPE are simply amazing, whether in the form of an apostrophe to the absent Odysseus or to the Gods, whether in a narrative past-tense mode or in the immediacy of the lived present, whether in the staccato of monosyllables or in the exuberance of unusual compounds, whether they employ Greek-feeling pentameter lines, alliteration, or anaphora. This poetic cycle shows that the whole range of human experience is contained in Penelope of Ithaca."—Werner Sollors

Visitors from around the country and world...( Click on real time view for complete list)

New From Muddy River Books: Eating Grief at 3AM" by Doug Holder

(To order click on picture) “There is a sad, sweet nostalgia in Holder’s Eating Grief at 3 AM, a sense of loss and sadness for the places and the people who were a part of those scenes: the hunchback, the Tennessee Williams’ half lost blondes, the turbaned men and the discarded move nostalgically through life. Yet Holder finds something almost like beauty or knowledge in the abandoned warehouses with weeds crawling to the roof. He imagines when Mrs. Plant, an old art teacher, was an enigmatic young woman ‘feverishly taking notes about the paintings, a love note stuffed in a pocket of her winter coat.’ There are always dreams, even if never fulfilled. There is so often the sense of time passing, of letting go-- letting go of people, letting go of Harvard Square Theater and the Wursthaus, balms that seemed like they would always be there. And they are and always will be in Holder’s moving poems.” — Lyn Lifshin, Author of Cold Comfort (Black Sparrow Press) "

Elizabeth Lund Interviews Doug Holder-Founder of the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene

Please donate to the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene- keep us alive!

(Click on Picture to order) "Starting with Allen Ginsberg and ending with Charlie Parker, Sam Cornish takes us on a whirlwind tour of some of the livelier segments of 1950s and early ’60s American culture. With non-stop energy, syncopated rhythms, and a fast pace that keeps you humming as you turn the pages, Cornish visits a wide array of writers, musicians, and films, stopping along the way to visit local poetry scenes and pay tribute to the homeless and poor. Calling on Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, Marlon Brando, Miles Davis and a host of others, Cornish makes us feel the excitement of those times, even as he and his companions absorb the complex and often disturbing history of what he aptly calls “My Young America.” — Martha Collins

Read what people are saying about the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene

click on pic for more info..... Diane Lockward ( New Jersey Council of the Arts Fellow and publisher of Tarapin Books)--"You provide an invaluable service for poets." Rusty Barnes ( Night Train magazine) "Doug. I know your reviewers have made a difference to me and my work. Keep up the good work". J.L. Morin ( Lecturer at Boston University/ Library Review) "That's a lovely blog you've got there, Doug Holder." ( Sherill Tippins--"Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York's Legendary Chelsea Hotel.") " I love your introduction, and fervently hope that Somerville never meets anything like the Chelsea Hotel's fate. It's always a pleasure to read your blog -- even when I'm not in it!" Alan Kaufman ( Editor of the "Outlaw Bible of American Literature")-- " ...a terrific blog..." Perry Glasser--( Winner of the Gival Press Novel Award): " The blog is very impressive." Elizabeth Swados ( Tony Nominated Playwright, Guggenheim Award Winner ): "Thanks you so much for this review on your blog. It helps so much, not just in terms of getting people to know that it exists, but also makes me feel that someone has gotten what I have tried to do. I wish you the very best." Marguerite G. Bouvard, PhD-- Resident Scholar Women's Research Center-Brandeis University: " I love reading your blog. What a refreshing respite from the New York Times. Thanks for all you do for poetry." Ed Hamilton--author of "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel" commenting on Chelsea Hotel article: " That's a great piece. Thanks for sending the link along." Richard Moore-- Finalist/T.S.Eliot Prize " I have just read your wonderful interview of the wonderful Eric Greinke!" Steven Ford Brown (Former Director of Research for the George Plimpton Interview Series "The Writer in America"): " You did a great job with the Clayton Eshleman interview, especially the personal stuff. So much better than doing the dry talk about literary polemics." Celia Gilbert (Pushcart Prize in Poetry) "Doug thanks so much for that fine shout out. I'm delighted how you put it all together!" Karen Alkalay-Gut, PhD ( Professor of English-Tel Aviv University) "Doug, I enjoy your posts immensely" Lise Haines ( Writer-in-Residence, Emerson College-Boston) "I love your blog!" "( Elizabeth Searle- Executive Board/Pen New England) : "Like your blog. I like the interview with Rick Moody." Ploughshares Staff- " Everyone at Ploughshares is a big fan of your blog." Suzanne Wise (Publicity Director Poets House-NYC): "Thank you so much for this wonderfully thoughtful portrait of our new home! You really "get us" and you translate that understanding vividly. I love the way you talk about Stanley's ( Kunitz) giant dictionary as a relic from another age. We're glad to preserve such relics." Kathleen Bitetti ( Chief Curator Medicine Wheel Productions/ Former Director of the Artists Foundation--Boston.) " Love your interview with Marc Zegans...wonderful blog!"

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The Arts and Literature in Somerville, Mass.: Off the Shelf with Doug Holder

( Click on picture to go to column) A weekly column in The Somerville News--Somerville's only independent newspaper!

The Somerville News Writers Festival Nov. 13, 2010

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ISCS PRESS--WE WILL PUBLISH YOUR BOOK!

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The Boston Globe: Poetic Healing at McLean Hospital

This was the lead article in the Living/Arts section of the Boston Globe. (Feb. 2000) It has to do with Doug Holder's poetry workshops at McLean Hospital and the history of this literary landmark. (Click on pic for full article)

(Click on picture to view) A Production of Somerville Community Access TV's show " Poet to Poet : Writer to Writer." Moderator: Gloria Mindock, Producer: Doug Holder, Director: Bill Barrell

"The Paris of New England" Interviews with Poets and Writers" by Doug Holder

( Click on pic to order this and other Ibbetson Press titles) Interviews with poets and writers from the Paris of New England Somerville, Mass. " Thank you for your interview book. I read it straight through last night and enjoyed it very much...So many good ideas in one book." Eric Greinke-- Presa Press "Very engrossing collection of Holder's interviews, with a wide range of writers about their lives and work. Included are Mike Basinski, Mark Doty, Robert Creeley, Ed Sanders, Hugh Fox, Robert K. Johnson, and Pagan Kennedy.-- Chiron Review

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Reach a wide swath of the Boston Area literary community through The Somerville News' "Off the Shelf" literary Column with Doug Holder. The column is online and in a weekly print edition that reaches 15,000 readers. For more information click on picture.

Grolier Poetry Book Shop

" Poetry is honored every day at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop in Harvard Square, the oldest continuous poetry book shop in the United States. We stock over 15,000 volumes and spoken word CD's. Special orders are welcome. Come and visit us at 6 Plympton St. or online http://grolierpoetrybookshop.org (click on picture)

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Poetry Workshops With Doug Holder

( Click on Picture for Doug Holder's website) Doug Holder has led poetry workshops, both for indviduals and groups for a decade now. Robert Olen Butler ( Pulitzer Prize Winner for Literature) wrote of Holder's work: " I've been greatly enjoying your poems. You have a major league talent, man." Available for individual or groups. Expert in gently helping the novice into poetry and the poetry scene. Reasonable Rates. Available for editing. Call 617-628-2313 for more information. Or email: dougholder@post.harvard.edu

Ibbetson Street Press

No One Dies at the Au Bon Pain by Doug Holder

Poems of Boston and Just Beyond: From The Back Bay to the Back Ward by Doug Holder

A poetry collection that deals with Boston, and Holder's experiences working on the psychiatric units at McLean Hospital

Of All the Meals I Had Before by Doug Holder

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The Man in the Booth in the Midtown Tunnel (To order click on picture)

A new poetry book by Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene Founder, Doug Holder. "I'm enjoying 'The Man in the Booth in the Midtown Tunnel' -- perfect poems, especially in that ambiance." Dan Tobin -- Director of Creative Writing--Emerson College-Boston, Mass./ " It is quintessential Holder& bristles with sardonic wit. Congratulations."-- Eric Grienke (founder of Presa Press) / " I finished "The Man in the Booth in the Midtown Tunnel'...greatly enjoyed the menagerie of characters and imperfect human beings I met along the way. Excellent work Doug!"-- Paul Steve Stone ( Creative Director W.B.Mason and the autthor of "Or So It Seems.") / "I am reminded in the pages of this collection of meeting, a year or two before her death, the artist Alice Neel, who painted gorgeously surreal ironic portraits of famous and ordinary people in the 1930's and 40's--and shivering as she looked me over. Doug Holder looks at the world through a similarly sharp and amused set of eyes...Rich nuggets of humor and wry reflection throughout this collection." Pamela Annas ( Asst. Dean of Humanities U/Mass Boston/Reviewer Midwest Book Review) “....particularly liked The Tunnel—a little masterpiece!” Kathleen Spivack ( Permanent Visiting Professor of Creative Writing/American Literature at the University of Paris) "I want to tell you this was just about the best chap I ever read, I absolutely DEVORED it..."--( Robin Stratton--Boston Literary Magazine) "An acclaimed Boston-area poet writes about characters who have captured his interest over the years -- a colonial dame with purple hair, a postal worker ready to be returned to his sender, J. Edgar Hoover's secret love -- in this skillfull collection of short, free form poems." (Perkins School of the Blind Website) Click on picture to access Cervena Barva Press

About Me

Doug Holder is the founder of the independent literary press Ibbetson Street. He teaches writing at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston and Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. He is the arts/editor of The Somerville News, and for the past twenty years has run poetry groups at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. His poetry and prose have appeared in the Bay State Banner, The Boston Globe, The Boston Globe Magazine, Rattle, Endicott Review, Long Island Quarterly, Toronto Quarterly and many others. He holds an M.A. in Literature from Harvard University.

Poems From The Left Bank: Somerville, Mass. by Doug Holder

( Click on picture to order) "The poems are full of life, witty and sympathetic and sharp all at once. And most of all, full of an engaged affection for the place and people. If Burns is Scotland's Bard, you are certainly Somerville's..." Kate Chadbourne, PhD ( Lecturer-Harvard University-Celtic Languages and Literature)

From The Paris of New England: Interviews with Poets and Writers" by Doug Holder

(Click on picture to order) Interviews by Doug Holder from the Paris of New England: Somerville, Mass. "I am impressed. A lot of great interviews compiled over the years."-- Brian Morrisey--Poesy Magazine / " A very engrossing read..."--Chiron Review / "Doug Holder knows how to ask important questions"--New Pages

Advertise with the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene.

Doug Holder founder says: "Reach a wide audience of poets, writers, editors and publishers, Have your ad linked to your site. The Boston area Small Press and Poetry Scene is well known in the small press community..." For information about rates, etc...email: dougholder@post.harvard.edu or call 617-628-2313